Ruan Xiangning couldn't help but let out a laugh when she heard that. "Miss, save your energy. We know exactly what he's going to say. Don't think you have that much charm. If you really aren't convinced, then just make him speak."

A woman, a female ghost, simultaneously stared at Zhou Huan's reflection. Yet, Zhou Huan stood rooted to the spot, swaying slightly, head bowed, refusing to meet either woman's gaze. He mumbled dazedly, "You are both my women. This one is my ex-wife; I'll be staying with her tonight. You, the later arrival, I shall favor you another time!"

Wang Xiaohe was instantly stunned by Zhou Huan's words. She never imagined that Zhou Huan could treat her like an emperor. Who did he think he was, daring to speak of 'favoring' a female ghost? Wasn't he completely mad? Xiaohe considered these points with great detail, but caught in the heat of the moment and standing right there, she found no graceful exit. The frustration built up inside her until she finally couldn't hold back the tears of sheer unwillingness.

"Fine, Zhou Huan, you mark my words. From this day forward, don't even think about coming back to me. I'm leaving!" Xiaohe was truly humiliated, having made such a spectacle of herself in front of so many people, and having lost all the trust she'd held for Zhou Huan. She strode rapidly toward the exit of the Fushou Hall.

"Sister Xiaohe, don't go!" Dongzi was fast, but Xiaohe, fresh back from intensive training, was even quicker. So Dongzi chased after her. Before she had gone far, he spotted Shi Bingyuan, staggering as if his strength were about to give out.

Shi Bingyuan rushed up to Dongzi and grabbed him. "Did that female ghost run in here?"

"Yes, she's in the room. Hurry up and show them your skills," Dongzi said, his tone laced with a touch of sarcasm. But he was also desperate to wake Zhou Huan and, crucially, worried about Wang Xiaohe, whom he wanted to follow.

"You little bastard, just you wait until I subdue this ghost, then I'll teach you a lesson!" Shi Bingyuan, clutching his compass, panted heavily while following the needle's direction. He grumbled under his breath, "Damn it, why is this compass spinning randomly? It's made me run through extra streets."

Shi Bingyuan burst into Fushou Hall just as Li Tianxiong was wrestling with Ruan Xiangning using a Buddhist scripture. Shi Bingyuan resolved to risk everything. Raising both palms, he painted two True Thunder Bagua symbols on his skin with his own blood, then roared, "Thunderbolt Palm!"

Shi Bingyuan truly wasn't taking any breaks. It seemed he wanted to resolve the matter quickly; after all, dragging it out would harm his reputation, and those enticing rewards from the family provided him with significant motivation.

Li Tianxiong used the large temple scripture he brought from Mount Wutai as a weapon, launching a continuous barrage of power against Ruan Xiangning.

Shi Bingyuan's palm struck Ruan Xiangning from behind. A piercing scream erupted: "Ah!" She shot up from the ground, pointing a single finger at the old man Shi and shouting, "You dared to ambush me? Fine, tonight I’ll show you how serious I am!" Then, she plunged down from the air, her hands shaped into claws, aimed directly at Shi Bingyuan. He could resist the scripture for a while due to his immunity to it, but Shi Bingyuan's strike was something he truly couldn't withstand.

Seeing the ghost's incoming strike, Shi Bingyuan felt it was too late to dodge. He was gripped tightly by her, completely exhausted this time, though his hands continued to beat against Ruan Xiangning's arm.

Li Tianxiong chanted the Demon Subduing Spell while wielding a demon-subduing pestle modeled after Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, smashing it fiercely toward Ruan Xiangning.

Ruan Xiangning took a solid hit from Li Tianxiong's pestle, and the whole ghost shrieked, "You little punk, playing dirty tricks with me, are you? I'll kill you!"

She then pulled out her bamboo flute and blew with all her might. Before Zhou Huan's eyes, the small coffin behind her began to spin wildly, eventually transforming into an ice coffin, poised to burrow into Li Tianxiong's abdomen.

"My child, cry hard; Mommy will play you a song." What followed was a piece of music utterly savage in its execution, yet the melody was deeply heartbreaking. Combined with the child’s heart-wrenching cries, this combination forced Li Tianxiong into the same state Zhou Huan had experienced while trying to capture the ghost: his heart softened, and his resolve wavered.

Shi Bingyuan was truly at his limit now. Li Tianxiong was still holding on, but carelessly, he too was grabbed by Ruan Xiangning. The female ghost held one person's neck in each hand, squeezing tightly, inexorably. The two men struggled in agony.

"My woman, please release them. We'll take the child and go. It’s not good to make enemies of them," Zhou Huan suddenly spoke. But the Zhou Huan visible now seemed strangely invigorated, as if he had never been under any spiritual control.

Hearing Zhou Huan's words, the female ghost released the two men who clearly lacked the strength to resist. "You two useless things, I’ve already been lenient by letting you injure me once. If you still won't listen to my husband, Zhou Huan, then I won't care anymore—I’ll crush you both instantly."

"Let them go; it hasn't been easy for them either," Zhou Huan said, his voice strained as if fighting some internal sensation.

Ruan Xiangning prepared to leave with Zhou Huan and the small coffin, but at that very moment, Hong Kun, who had been crouching by the wall, seized the opportunity as Ruan Xiangning turned. He deliberately lacerated both hands until his ten fingers were completely broken, blood gushing forth. He lunged behind Ruan Xiangning and clamped down on her tightly. Hong Kun’s blood began to flow across Ruan Xiangning's body, and wherever the blood touched, white smoke billowed up, eliciting a sharp cry from the ghost.

"Female ghost, I’m fighting you to the death today! Since I can’t beat you, I’ll conquer you with my blood!" Hong Kun's heroic act was truly moving. Li Tianxiong, who had collapsed, also broke his ten fingertips and rushed forward to grab Ruan Xiangning.

Ghosts are creatures of Yin; they fear the hot blood of the living the most, as the Yang energy within it is intensely potent—especially the blood of a man who has never known a woman, which is even fiercer.

Smoke began to rise from Ruan Xiangning's entire body, and in some places, decaying bone structure started to show. "Ah! You people are too much! Since it’s come to this, I’m going all out too. I won't hold back anymore!"

Just then, a series of sounds from Ruan Xiangning's bamboo flute summoned a host of wandering spirits. The two ghost heads that had been near Shi Bingyuan also appeared, holding guns and howling menacingly.

Seeing the crowd of ghosts rush to her aid, Ruan Xiangning called out, "Help me with one favor: boost my Yin energy. I need to undergo Stone Crystallization of the Soul!"

"But then you won't be alive! After soul crystallization, you'll have to reincarnate. Where will you find the chance to be with your husband again?" one of the ghosts asked Ruan Xiangning.

At this point, Zhou Huan began slamming his head against the wall repeatedly until his forehead was covered in blood. Gradually, Zhou Huan staggered upright himself. "Ah, why is my body so weak!" Zhou Huan moved laboriously. "What happened here?"

"Husband, you're awake? Hahaha, wonderful. Now it seems everyone is against me. Very well!" Ruan Xiangning extended a large hand and gripped Zhou Huan's body tightly. "Then don't leave. Stay right here with me." Following this, Ruan Xiangning’s phantom form dissolved into several wisps of green smoke, which then intertwined, settled onto the ground, and solidified into a stone statue of Ruan Xiangning standing rigidly in the rear courtyard.

What bound Zhou Huan were two ring-shaped stone restraints. He was utterly powerless to struggle, his body having been left extremely frail by Ruan Xiangning since the last time he fell under her influence.

"Master, hold on! We'll figure out a way to save you!" Li Tianxiong's words were deeply touching.

"Hahahaha, you bunch of fools, come on and hit me if you dare!" The stone statue was now surrounded by swirling Yin energy. Every time Li Tianxiong tried to reach out and touch it, his blood instantly froze into crystalline clumps upon hitting the ground.

Shi Bingyuan slowly regained his senses. He poured out an entire jar of cinnabar powder onto the ground, tracing a complete circle around the stone statue of Ruan Xiangning. "Heh heh. You dare to attempt Stone Crystallization of the Soul? Now, none of us are leaving. I'll be watching you right here."

"Old man, die!" A torrent of extremely powerful Yin energy surged toward Shi Bingyuan. At first, Shi Bingyuan tried to hold it back with his hands, but the current’s penetrative power was too strong; he couldn't resist at all. He was flung backward, crashing to the ground and falling unconscious.

Li Tianxiong and Hong Kun stood on opposite sides, both somewhat bewildered. What was this thing they couldn't handle?

Just then, Dongzi returned, pulling Wang Xiaohe in from the doorway. As soon as Dongzi entered the courtyard, he placed his hands on his hips and glared at the stone statue of Ruan Xiangning. "Well, well, you can turn into stone now? Sister Xiaohe, look! Brother Huan is trapped by her."

"If Dongzi hadn't explained it clearly to me, I never would have known you used such underhanded tricks to confuse my fiancé. Let my Zhou Huan go immediately," Xiaohe said, showing a surprisingly commanding presence, unlike her earlier impulsive flight.

In truth, Dongzi had taken Xiaohe down to the riverbank for a walk and explained everything that had happened to Zhou Huan, promising on Zhou Huan's behalf: "He will absolutely never change his heart. What you saw was the ghost using her trickery. Him falling for it was purely due to carelessness, a momentary lapse, and it won't happen again." It was only after Dongzi’s eloquent rambling that Xiaohe agreed to return and have a proper talk with Zhou Huan.

By this time, Zhou Huan had lost consciousness, standing stock-still within the two stone wrist-rings conjured by Ruan Xiangning, his head drooping.

"Brother Huan, how are you? Wake up!" Xiaohe stepped forward and shook Zhou Huan back and forth.

Ruan Xiangning would not tolerate such an intrusion. "You vile woman, back again to steal my husband? Let me show you what you’re made of!" With that, Ruan Xiangning lashed out another wave of Yin energy, slamming Xiaohe backward a great distance until the back of Xiaohe's head struck the wall, drawing blood from her scalp.

"Hahahaha, how do you like that? Still want to fight me for him?" Ruan Xiangning was utterly triumphant now, issuing bursts of maniacal laughter as if she had just won a grand prize.

A long, sharp shout pierced the sky: "I will fight!"